The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-04-22
Cremation In Alaska.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS THAT FOLLOW DEATH
WHY THE BODIES BURN WELL.

''.-Nhl lhE BJlSN w Ella
Having had information the other day
of cremation to take place at the In
dian village, | went to the beach to
witness it. The detunct siwash was
known around Janeau as Frank, and
was formerly employed at Martin Bros.
store in the capacity of Indian clerk,
and the blockman Gt being a double
cremation of one of each sex) had been
called Jennie both, as it happened,
having died of consumption. The
morning service consisted of the an
cient ceremony known as ''potlatch,'
which is always customary among the
Indians of southeastern Alaska on the
occasion of death of one of their
number. The potlatch is division of
whatever temporal goods the deceased
may have possessed, such as blankets,
dry goods, &c, among his or her re-
latons, according as the merits of the
case each individual case may Justify.
In the services of the mourning,
which are very long, and to the Indian
mind very impressive, the first in the
order Of the day is eulogistic disclo-
sure by one of the old men, which, be-
ing delivered by him in sections, so to
speak, is taken up and sung by the rest
in monotonous sort of chant the
old man is then superseded by another
venerable buck, who goes through the
same service, and he in turn by an
other, until all the old men have had
their individual say. The chanters
keep time by humping on the floor
with sticks and beating on drum.
This performance being gone over for
day or two, the potlatch takes place.
The body of the deceased is first
strapped in a mating, woven from
split roots, and in appearance resemb-
ling coarse straw. They then convey
the body to the place of cremation,
which is always on the beach at high
water mark. On this occasion they
had on hand for the purpose of burn
ing the two bodies, about one cord of
wood, some split and some in small
logs. First a platform of small logs is
laid foot from the ground, and a
space of four inches between each log.
On this pyre, which was about seven
feet long by five feet wide, the two
bodies were placed, about three feet
apart, and around them a miniature
log hut was built to height Of four feet;
the enclosed space is then carefully
filled in with split wood and fine kind
ling, and now, everything being in
readiness, the fire is lighted from the
bottom. The native diet being chiefly
salmon, an oily substance, the bodies
of the Indians seem to contain a con,
siderable amount of oil, as they burn
very rapidly. While the corpses were
charring, the friends of the deceased
continue to poke them with long sticks
occasionally raking the fragments OF
burnt flesh from the fire and wrapping
them in skins, blankets, &c. Return
ing from the cremation of the two ma
tives, heard singing in native house
and dropped in to see what was going
on.
There was quite an assemblage OF
natives squatted ar Jund a small fire in
the centre of the room, and at one end
of the house the corpse of an old wom-
an lay, covered with sheet and blank
cts. All around the room was strung
up muslin, pieces of calico, and few
blankets also three umbrellas, etc,
all of which will be distributed among
the relatives and near fri nds. Then
the process described above will bs
gone through,